Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have worked out detailed swap arrangements covering water and electricity, aiming to improve agricultural productivity in areas experiencing dry conditions.
Under the key agreement signed at a trilateral meeting in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan will receive electricity from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; in return, Bishkek will release additional water supplies from the Toktogul Reservoir, local news outlets reported September 7. Astana also agreed to facilitate electricity transmissions to Kyrgyzstan from Russia via the Kazakh power grid, while Uzbekistan pledged to supply up to 900 kWh of power to southern Kazakh areas in 2026 to cover expected shortages there when local power systems get upgrades.
According to Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov, the agreements feature precise delivery timetables. “Work in the water and energy sectors requires maximum precision and strict adherence to schedules,” the inbusiness.kz news outlet quoted the minister as saying, adding the agreements create “the basis for stability of energy systems and water supply for the entire region.”
Areas of southern Kazakhstan have grappled with especially arid conditions in 2025, with little rainfall and high temperatures.
In its September update, the GEOGLAM crop monitor notes that “dry conditions continue to negatively impact crop development in most areas” of Central Asia. It notes that Uzbekistan’s wheat yield, for example, is expected to be roughly 10 percent lower this harvest season, compared with the same season in 2024.
The lone area bucking the arid trend in northern Kazakhstan, which is responsible for generating roughly 95 percent of the country’s annual wheat harvest, the crop monitor reports. GEOLOGAM, or the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring, is an initiative of the G20 grouping of states.
By Eurasianet